May 24, 2013 - submitted by Ryan, United States of America

Q. TEAM ORACLE QUESTION #121
I'll be graduating from high school next year and must choose a quote for placement in the yearbook, any suggestions? The quote can be absolutely anything, from funny, to inspiring, to sad.

The Oracle replies:

I think the important thing to remember is the yearbook will be around forever but the quote you use may not be relevant to the future you but that's ok - maybe feel the moment & pick something appropriate for now, maybe a lyric from your favourite song.
It will remind everyone in the future (including yourself) who you were at school. If that doesn't appeal, you could use something that will show your hopes / ambitions for the future. A yearbook will be a legacy of sorts but try not to get too wrapped up in not wanting to regret it in the future.
I recall once being asked to write a quote for a programme (which was set out like a yearbook), I agonized over it for far too long & used one by Andy Warhol. It was a bad choice immediately.
I have a chalkboard in my kitchen that I used to write myself reminders on.
I wrote something back in January that I haven't yet erased as it pretty much sums up how I feel about life: Fine the fun. Make it count.
That wasn't so much a reminder by the way, more of an order. I look at it - subliminally or directly - several times a day. It's a great positive message to have I think.
I use and like - "life in the year" rather than year in the life. It's similar to my chalkboard message. In fact, most of my favourites are:
Many (including A.A. Milne) - "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift - that's why they call it the present".
Gandhi - "Be the change that you wish to see in the world".
Mark Twain (& others) - "Dance like there’s nobody watching".
I have also used a Coldplay line from my favourite song when I feel disappointed, but it's not quite the right tone for a yearbook: "Give me real, don't give me fake".
I could go on but I am sure you will have enough to inspire you to choose the right one for you.
Over to you.

A quote that I have been using as a signature for a long time just happens to be lyrics from a Coldplay song. This quote represents a great truth for me that has helped me in many ways as I've made decisions in my life:
"If you never try then you'll never know. "Good luck, Jill, USA.

This is what I chose:
"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm" - Sir Winston Churchill. Fabrizio.

I guess Coldplay have enough quotes to be used. My favourites are: "I'd rather be a comma than a full stop", "you'll go backwards but then you'll go forwards again", "people moving all the time inside a perfectly straight line so don't you want to curve away?", "some things you have to believe others are puzzles, puzzling me", "just because I'm losing doesn't mean I'm lost" ,"no I don't wanna battle from beginning to end, I don't wanna cycle or recycle revenge, I don't wanna follow death and all of his friends", " when you use your heart as a weapon, it hurts like heaven " ... I think those are enough. Boshkash.

Well, since graduating is a moment when you start a new 'part' of your life I would suggest something inspiring and motivating- a quote from Bob Moawad :"You can't make footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on your butt. And who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time?"
All the best, Katarzyna.

Of course you can quote some lines from Coldplay lyrics, something with a special meaning for you.
Another suggestion, one of those:
"Wherever you go, go with all your heart". Confucius
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly". Richard Bach
"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse". Walt Disney
Best wishes. L. Q.

I have a couple of my favorites. 1) "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"- Edmund Burke, 2) "There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them"- Sylvia Plath, and 3) Pretty much any Coldplay song. Hope this helps! Love, Darem.

"In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson." by Tom Bodett. I think that's a bit serious but seems to fit. Wayne.